COUNCIL'S TOUR OF CAPE OFFERS INSIGHT INTO ISSUES

They filed onto the bus, one city official at a time, preparing for a marathon tour of Cape Girardeau.

Their schedule didn't include the Mississippi River, the Show Me Center or any of the city's more popular attractions. Instead, councilmen spent Tuesday looking at roads, unfinished buildings and even junk cars.

Boring? Maybe, but participants said the annual trip is vital: It helps the City Council see and understand the issues they deal with at every meeting.

This year's schedule included the Walnut-Henderson sewer separation project, Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, two fire stations, the city's recycling center and 22 other sites.

Councilman Melvin Gateley suggested the group outings in 1992, the first year he was elected. He said some on the City Council questioned the tour's value at first, but now willingly participate.

"I'm a hands-on person, and I think you should be knowledgeable about your ward and have a concern for the rest of the city," Gateley said.

Elected in April to his second term, Gateley has established himself as a leader in beautification issues. He asked several sites be included on Tuesday's tour so councilmen -- along with the city manager, chief building inspector and engineer -- could make suggestions for improvements.

One site, situated on an alley off Good Hope, featured several junk cars, a dilapidated building and overgrown grass. Two others along Glenview Drive had unfinished homes sitting in the middle of thigh-high weeds.

"I hate it that you have to enforce property codes all the time, that you have to legislate the idea of cleanliness," Gateley said. "It should be a spontaneous thing -- people caring about their property and their neighbor's property."

The council is looking at ways to reduce the time between property owners receiving notification of a problem and the city taking legal action.

Councilman Tom Neumeyer, elected in April 1994, said the tour helped him see Cape Girardeau's progress on several projects, including five softball fields and a concession area at Shawnee Park and a community center at Osage Park.

"I would like to see things move quickly, but I am learning that the wheels of government grind pretty slowly," he said.

Dan Muser, parks and recreation director, said Shawnee Park would be put to good use next summer. The three fields at Arena Park host 300 to 400 people per night of softball action. Muser estimated that number would multiply greatly at Shawnee Park.

In addition, the park will produce money for the city due to concession sales.

"We have to turn away teams who want to sign up for city leagues," Muser said. "When this opens, we will have a lot of people out here every night for league play."

At the airport, Greg Chenoweth, airport manager, showed councilmen the results of a $2.2 million improvement project. The federal government provided 90 percent of the funding, the state provided 5 percent and the city provided 5 percent.

Workers poured new concrete on a taxiway, put up more windsocks and extended the runway.

Pam Sander, solid-waste coordinator, guided the council through the city's newly reopened recycling center. Although the recycling market is soft right now, she said, free labor provided by jail inmates helps the city absorb some cost.

Miller, the city manager, said the day was productive.

"It was a very good outing,"he said. "I think it allows the council and some of the staff to get together on a more informal basis and see what's going on."

CITY COUNCIL TOUR SCHEDULE

1. 327 Lorimier

2. The alley on the 300 block of Lorimier between Morgan Oak and Good Hope

3. Good Hope-Fountain Street bridge

4. 700-900 blocks of South Sprigg, Linden, South Pacific and Maple

5. Walnut-Henderson Combined Sewer Overflow Project

6. Shawnee Park

7. D&K Drug site

8. Cape Girardeau Regional Airport

9. Bloomfield Road, between Kingshighway and Silver Springs Road

10. Fire Station 2

11. Gordonville Road between the water tower and St. Francis Medical Center

12. Public Works Recycling Center

13. Cape LaCroix-Walker Branch Flood-Control Project

14. Convention and Visitors Bureau

15. Fire Station 4

16. Glenview Street

17. Ashland Court Subdivision

18. Osage Park

19. Lexington Avenue-North Sprigg Street project

20. Brucher Street

21. Big Bend and Cape Rock Drive

22. Vincent Drive

23. Rand Street to Cape Rock

24. Hill Street

25. Spanish Street between Johnson and Fifth streets.

26. Mill Street

27. Main Street and Second Street